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Tarnish   /tˈɑrnɪʃ/   Listen
Tarnish

verb
(past & past part. tarnished; pres. part. tarnishing)
1.
Make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically.  Synonyms: defile, maculate, stain, sully.  "Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man"
noun
1.
Discoloration of metal surface caused by oxidation.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Tarnish" Quotes from Famous Books



... merit as a light for colliers working in fiery mines. Independent of air, it acts equally well under water, and is therefore used by divers. Moreover, it can be fixed wherever a wire can be run, does not tarnish gilding, and lends itself to the most ...
— The Story Of Electricity • John Munro

... into the old feminine vocabulary—simply "horrid" to think of a young girl's being allowed to listen to such talk. The fact that Una smoked cigarettes and sipped an occasional cocktail did not in the least tarnish a certain radiant innocency which made her appear the victim, rather than the accomplice, of her parents' vulgarities. Julia Westall felt in a hot helpless way that something ought to be done—that some one ought to speak to the girl's mother. And ...
— The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 2 (of 10) • Edith Wharton

... together the loveliest forms and fondest hearts; that none but those in whom his godhead shone outwardly, and was inly felt, should ever partake of his triumphs; and I stood and gazed at a distance, as unworthy to mingle in so bright a throng, and did not (even for a moment) wish to tarnish the glory of so fair a vision by being myself admitted into it. I say this was my notion once, but God knows it was one of the errors of my youth. For coming nearer to look, I saw the maimed, the blind, and the halt enter in, the crooked and the dwarf, the ugly, the old and ...
— Table-Talk - Essays on Men and Manners • William Hazlitt

... prospects would be destroyed. What client would confide his interests to the imbecile who ruined himself for the woman who has been the talk of all Paris? I am not a great lord, I have neither an historical name to tarnish, nor an immense fortune to lose. I am plain Noel Gerdy, a advocate. My reputation is all that I possess. It is a false one, I admit. Such as it is, however, I must keep it, and I will ...
— The Widow Lerouge - The Lerouge Case • Emile Gaboriau

... thing, that I should show my back to the enemy and although this be the time that will bring me to my end, and I must die in this battle, I will rather stand to it courageously, and bear whatsoever comes upon me, than by now running away bring reproach upon my former great actions, or tarnish their glory." This was the speech he made to those that remained with him, whereby he encouraged ...
— The Antiquities of the Jews • Flavius Josephus


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